The Sun. — London, England, 1838-01-24 00:00:00

I k. Canadians, he could not help both expressing his regret, and condemning a. .1P 724 ; he seas :eel that in the Ministerial plan twenty persons were to be elected as a Council from the inhabitants of both Provinces. Mr. E. EULWER entirely approved, not only of the measure be fore the House, but also the whole conduct of her Majesty's Ministers respecting the unfortunate disputes in Canada. tie thanked them per sonally, as an Englishman, for their desire to support the interests of the country and to maintain the integrity of the empire. He thanked them, also, for their determinatior. to .redress the grievances of the Ca nadians, and to bestow upon them the blessings of a free and improved Constitution. It appeared to him, however, that the Government had a curious variety of arguments to answer. The Hon. Member for Wor cestershire said that the Ministers were deeply responsible, and the ground on which he founded this responsibility was, that they had not bestowed a sufficient stipend upon the Bishop of Quebec. The Noble Lord the Member for South Lancashire, after condemning the policy of Lord Gosford, went on to say that that Noble Lord ought not to have been removed, because, having exhausted all the arts of conri. liation, he would naturally be .thos best man to carry coercive measures into effect. All that was very wise, and very politic too ; but it was not at all practical. According to that theory the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth, who had opposed the Reform Bill in a'l itt stages, should have been called on as the fittest to pass it for that reason en the resignation of Lord Grey. There was a great cry of imbecility against her Majesty's Ministers; and that cry came from two extreme parties, as opposite to each other in political opinion as it was possible to be; but when he heard it he could not help remembering the keen and forcible observation of Swift—" When intemperate men of opposite parties unite together for the purpose of assailing a third, and calling it imbecile, depend upon it that it is a sure sign of the wisdom and mode ration of the party assailed." The Learned Gentleman who had been heard at the bar of the House the last night had made as much of his case as he could, in a speech of two hours' duration ; but to the flourish of trumpets with which it was announced, and the threatening ex ordium with which it was commenced, there never was a more " lame and impotent conclusion." The Learned Gentleman had on that occa sion entered into a long history of the early condition of Canada ; but that had no more to do with the question at issue than the history of the Deluge could have with the overflow of the St. Lawrence.—(A laugh.) One of the Learned Gentle Men's charges against the Govern. anent of the country was that acknowledged grievances still existed in Canada; but whose fault was- that but that of the Canadians them selves P The Legislature of Great Britain would nom be employed in examining into and redressing them, if they had not turned their pe. tition into a declaration of war. The next charge of the Learned Gen. tleman was, that, as the Government had acknowledged the existence of grievances in Canada without redressing them, that was a justifica. lion for a revolt on the part of the people. Now, the contrary was the ease ; for in July last the speech of the Noble Lord the Member for Sroud had been called conciliatory and satisfactory as regarded the main grievance complained—the Legislative Council—by Mr. Roebuek him self. The Canadians, in fact, cut away the ground from them. selves, and left not a single argument in their own favour.— (Hear, hear.) The Learned Gentleman and those who supported bins desired to throw the whole blame of the rebellion on the Government. Now he (Mr. Bulwer) believed that the Govern.. rnent, on the'aontrary, were Wholly ipnocent. He believed that not folloviing up the'recommendatiOns of the Committee of 1823 contri buted something to bring about the present state of things. But Many people in Canada, as well as at home, thought that inflammatory speeches and writings, of which that Learned Gentleman knew more than he (Mr. Bulwer) did, were more instrumental in causing the revolt than anything else.—(Hear, hear) The Learned Gentleman, who was so fond of charging others, should take the beam out of his own eye before he sought the mote in that of his neighbour. But the Learned Gentleman's conduct in that respect forcibly reminded him of the observation of a celebrated Protestant Divine, in reference to another individual—" Souse people would never take the beans out of their own eyes unless they could sell the timber."—(Loud laughter.) The Learned Gentleman had said that the measure before the House was merely a measure of punishment ; but he (Mr. Bulwer) could not in history recollect any case of greater kindness or more generous conduct towards a disaffected people in a state of rebellion than that of her Majesty's Government. They granted a general amnesty, and, as a guarantee o . their good intentions in regard to the future freedom of the Pro. wince, they were about to send out Lord Durham, with power to frame a new Constitution for it. That Noble Lord's name had never yet been identified with coercion, but, on the contrary, was almost too Much mixed up with concession to the popular feeling of the country. And, as he was on the subject, he could not help admiring the self-sacri fice of that Noble Lord in undertaking the office, for to a man in his high station, enjoying the consideration of the Court, and the affection Of the country, it was a sacrifice of no ordinary magnitude to go to such a Place, on such a mission. It was charged on the Government that the advisers of the Noble Lord were not likely to give satisfaction to the People of Canada; but who werethey ? Were they not Canadians teem 'Macs —the majority of them too to be chosen from the House of Assem bly, in the character of delegates of the people of that Province? If a new Constitution for the colony was to be considered even under the m ost favourable c i rcumstances, w h o could be better advisers than these individuals ? The Constitution, it was complained, was sus pended in Canada; but who were those that made the outcry now ? T hey were the very same persona who in recent times, within the 'walls of that House and without, declared that the Constitution was "the greatest p rac ti ca l gr i evance " of all that afflicted Canada, and w called on the Legislature of the country to do what it was about-to do at present—to overthrow it altogether, or to remodel another in its stead It was not, however, the British Government 'which suspended the Constitution of Canada ; for three years and a half it had been virtually suspended by the conduct of the House of Assem ble—(Hear, hear, and No, no, from or two voices.) And the quarrel in which this country was now involved wzs not, as the Learned Gentle. Man had stated, for " Money, money, money I" but for the maintenance of peace and social order, and the clue administration of legal justice. The Hon. Gentleman who spoke last had intimated a suspicion that the Bill before the House would fail in the effect it was intended to pro. duce; but if it did he (Mr. Bulwer) felt bound to say that it would be from •he too great liberality of the mother country, and not from her too great severity. He (Mr. Bulwer) thanked her Majesty's Govern ment for the measure, as well as for their whole conduct towards Ca nada since the passing of the Resolutions of July. The Right Mon. Member for Tamworth suffered from them, no doubt, and thought that in sending out those Resolutions troops should be s eed out along with them; but, in opposition to the opinion of that Right Honourable Baronet he (Mr. Bulwer) would take leave to place th at of the Noble Duke the leader of the party to which he b elonged.— (Cries of " No, no.") Did that cry mean that the Noble .. Duke was not the leader of the party?—(Cries of " No, no.") Well, "en, that Noble Duke, the leader of the Opposition party, had, in the other House of Parliament, completely exonerated her Majesty's Government for not sending out troops along with the Resolutions. Who was the sole and single accuser of her Majesty's Government in that House? A Noble and Learned Lord, who, after having coquetted 'With all parties, seemed now about to— (Cries of" Order.") The SPEAKER called the Hon. Member to order. Mr. BULWER—WeII, at all events, he (Mr. Bulwer) thanked the Government for not having sent out troops; for though they might un questionably have carried the Resolutions by force, they would have en listed on the side of the rebels the sympathy of a large portion of the kllghsh people. Every day proved the wisdom of such generosity_ s ev er) hour brought intelligenc e o f th e sa ti s f ac t ory resu l t of their for bearance. That very (lay's paper proved it by the accounts r ece i ve d f rom Canada. A separation of the colony from the mother country was spoken Of by some lion. Gentlemen as the only panacea. At some very distant Period, perhaps, when the interests of the French and the English popu lation could b e prove d to be identical, and when all circumstances shou ld concur in g i v i ng guarantees f or t h e f uture capa bili ty of effective selegovernment—then he might feel disposed to listen to the 6,oggeStioll ; but not until th en. Th ose w h o now a d vocate d separat i on ~h ou ld look at th e i nte l l i gence of the parties in Canada who alone wished it. They should c a ndidl y t e ll t h e people of the country at the Crown and Anchor meetings, and at the meetings held elsewhere on the sub -3 ct, that th ey are and have always been the most bigoted opponents to th e e e xtension of t ra d e an d commerce in the colony, and that M. Papi ' e? and hi s f o ll owers are by no means attached to the enlightened s of this country, but, on the contrary, revere, and would perpetuate, the worn-out fallacies of the feudal system of four centuries d uc e .. And the Hon. Member for Bridport, who, he (Mr. Bulwer) be eailed himself a philosophical Radical, should bear in mind, in t " i " teal f or separation, that a great proportion of the eleotoral popula ,ee 'h Of the L ower P rovince could hither read nor writ e , an d th a t even o`ne fo reman of a jury c ou ld no t s eel in the issue be cause h e was Il eient ins those necessary requisites.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Were hl9 se ese a people he (M r . Lytt on B u l wer ) wou ld as k , fi t to be esta hed vs _ as an indep en d en t St a t e ?—(H ear, h ear. ) Th e f i rst thing eY would do would be to throw themselves into the arms of the tsnit ed States ; and, by th e i r a b sur diti es i n l eg i s l at i on, after d i sgust. i the civilised world with Republics, end in a Jacobin tyranny. f„ fl are 'was one remark of the Noble Lord the Member for South nc ashire in his sp eec h of th e l as t n i g ht w hi c h touc h e d on t h e d i f _ ~ences and connexion of the Government and the R a di ca l p ar ty. w t`h he (Mr. B u l wer ) w i s h e d , i n rep l y t o th at remar k , to po i nt out to ° House of Commons and the country that it was the same small Atm ee gentlemen who, on the first night of the Session, declared su c h ` t er hostility to the Reform Bill and the Reform Government that ‘ ' ., °‘V s ought to enlist the. sympathies of the people of England in the use of the gu ilt y i nsurgents in Canada.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. u a vela did not know whether this small knot of gentlemen called , s th s e '"aelves Radicals or not; but, if they did, they should find another , L anse for themselves without delay, as th e grea t b o d y o f th e peop l e o f a'so_ogr and repudi a t e d th em un d er that title. The great majority of the ' a ! tile of England were proud of their country, gloried in its success, :grieved for its rever s es ; an d h e re j o i ce d to see that feeling partici ted in by the H ouse, w h o seeme d now resolved to save Canada from he r own factions, and to preserve the commencement of this reign from 4 melancholy and inauspicious retrospect. Mr. G ROTE had scarcely exeected in a speech on the general prin ce Ple of a Bill for the establishment of good government in Canada to hav e heard a sw ee pi ng an d unmeasure d d enunc i at i on o f w h at th e H on. e lalher for Lincoln had called "a small knot of gentlemen ;" and he ~?u l d not h e lp thi n ki ng t h at i t was a denunciation aeuncalled for as it al : 1 wholly undeserved and unnecessarily severe. When the Honour 'Member called his (Mr. 1-ote's) H meant it, n on. Friend, the Member for " a philosophical Radical" he o doubt, as a re_ °ae h ; but lie should have remembered, in making use of it, that it I„ as itl at least as respectable a term " a liter try Whig," which might equal, perhaps more, justice to be applied to others.—(Hear, and a u t g , hte t.) But, to pass to the question before the House, he (Mr. , rt rote ) could not at all agree with the Hon. Member for Lincoln in his a, Pre "len of gratitude to the Government for their conduct toward j: o n ,. e ad a a save in one or two instances; those were, the appointment of .7 Durham as Pacificator, and their declared intention of treating the de people with clemency. When he said that, he said all the good t e e , "°l(l say of them—and all the good which he believed they designed • Ile did not by any means consider the Bill calculated to harmo :e with these really good proceedings. The allegations on which it founded went to assert the impossibility of calling together the (Ruse of Assembly without danger to the peace of the province.— sva ear, h ear.) But that had never beers clearly established. There sl ets danger, in f ac t, n ow th an ever i n ca lli ng it t oge th er , f o r the popul ars aa leaders h a d fl e d, an d the remainder would be rendered more to na ßeable by the success of the Queen's forces. He could not, there %lseon s ee the slight es t necess ity f or sus p en di ng th e C ons tit u ti on o f the 1),, ,, Y• The Noble Lord had, on a fernier occasion, stated his reach st,si t o amend th e Legislative Council ; but, whether by accident or gn, the names of the new members he intended to infuse into it did i str ` arri ve i n time for the meeting of the House of Assembly its Septette. t ail, ' Was th a t g i v i ng th em a f a i r t r i a l ? H e (M r . G ro t e ) h a d p er . ed a strong wish on the part of a very respectable minority of the' . tz onn e Of Assembly to go on even with the Legislative Council as it a or a t te di until a bett er cou ld b e o bt a i n ed. Why not give th e m an op ts, "itY of expressing their opinions on the new Council ? If. e xPeriment failed things could not be worse than they were at te nt; it . not, it would allay all the irritation that now existed, and was e.: I Y long to exist, ins that province. The Constitution might be im la:" as much as possible, but the old one should be kept until the si titr one was inn operation. But, perhaps, the most important con. In a bort connected with the Bill before the House, was the question how far it would facilitate or retard the proceedings of Lord Dur op.!4 t owards a general pacification of the colony. In his (Mr. Grote's) i °n it would' add greatly to the difficulties and embarrassments of a e il !, 4 ton already surrounded by them on every side. These difficulties e mbarrassm . ents arose solely from the discontent and distrust which ev aded the Could anything be anticipated from that Bill province. S erioirs • ggravation of those already too great evils ? The House 4 ' 1 4 own despatches that many a, CO the authority of Lord Gosford's 14 0 1, 05 wholly unconnected with local politics on all former occasions , ' J eers induced to engage ins them now in consequence of the resolit taci"' Chf the Noble Lord the Meseber for Stroud. How could even the people so cireumstanced, na,, e , h ts ef Lord Durham operate to content a such causes of exasperation in active existence. 'The success ota a ? r d Dutham's mission depended entirely on the conciliatioin of --l on in Canada in favour of it ; c but valet had he to show in proof of the good intentions of the Government but the Bill before the H ou , s sso seseeeb of the Nob'' , 'Lord. It wax on the::: that all expectations of the return of peace were founded. and they were by no means of a character likely to render him (Mr. Grote) confident in the happy result. He (Mr. Grote) objected to the Bill in regard to the convention of delegates as representatives of the people of Canada. If there was danger in calling together the House of Assembly there should also be danger in co.ivok_ ing a convention of delegates, freely elected. If they were the true representatives of the public feeling, there was then equal objec tion on the ground taken by the Bill, to calling them together there was to calling together the House of Assembly. If there were not, their assistance and tier efforts would have no weight with the colonial community.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Grote) had be fore then expressed it as his cpnion—whether right or wrong—that a separation of the colony from the mother country would be the most desirable thing that could happen for both ; but although in that opinion he found no ostensible support from her Majesty's Government, he could not help thinking that few things which could occur had a greater tendency to effect it than the mea'ure under considera. tion. He differed entirely from the Honourable Member for Lin coln in believing that the first act of the colony, on separation, would be to join with the United States ; bit he was convinced that if the present course were persevered in by the Govern ment that would be the leiu:t, if such a case occurred. There existed a natural syrmiat.iy and fraternity of feeling between the people of Canada and of the United States, which should never be forgotten by England. They might wish it to be otherwise; but, however they might fear its effects, it would always exist and be powerfully influential. He knew that considerable apprehensions were entertained on this side the Atlantic that the seeds of the tree of liberty proposed to be planted in Canada might be blown over here.—(Hear.) But all our fears and wishes could not remove the natural coincidencies and consequences of things as they were in North America, and the Noble Lord the Member for Stroud should ever remember, in his at tempts at legislation, that it was three thousand miles from England, and close to the United States.—;Cheers.) He felt assured that, if the Noble Lord had fully considered all these things, ere he committed himself in resistance to the wishes of the people of Canada, he would not have resisted the introduction of reforms into the Executive and Legislative Councils. The late Member for Bath was certainly mistaken when he spoke of the Noble Lord's willingness to aid in any necessary or satisfactory modifications of the Constitutions of these Councils. On the contrary, the Noble Lord had expressly declared he could do nothing in the way of minor modifications respecting the personal ap pointments to the Executive Council, and therefore it was not to be hoped that he would willingly concede greater alterations. This ob vious indisposition to reform and conciliate made him him almost de spair of any good arising from Lord Durham's appointment. The Ca nadians had told them plainly what only would satisfy them, and Mi. sisters had, with equal openness, declared that they would not comply with their wishes. What, then, could Lord Durham do in the way of i conciliation ? It appeared to him (Mr. Grote) that the most probable termination of the Noble Lord's mission would be, not the bringing of the House of Assembly into harmony with the Legislative Council, but thebringing the Legislative Council into harmony with the House of Assembly, for one of those natural changes and coalitions is the history of nations which are so frequently brought about by the tricks and turns of those in authority, whose selfishness and folly often lead to the very results they are so anxious to avoid.—(Cheers.) What good could be achieved by Lord Durham in Canada, of which he knew nothing Y He was not acquainted with a single influential person of the popular party. All his intimacy was confined to a few offi cials there, on whom he must, in the present state of parties necessarily depend for information, and the consequence would be that, while they were ostensibly governed by him, he would in reality be working in the shackles of the Colonial Office.—(Hear, hear.) In short, he could not, on his arrival, use his own reason to judge of the propriety of the measures he might adopt, and, therefore, he (Mr. Grote) despaired of any benefit arising front his mission. Had they been content to ap proach the Canadians years ago in the spirit of conciliation, unmixed with coercion, they might have effected some good, for, after all, they must depend on the good feelings of the Canadians alone for any satis factory result ; but from the speech of the Noble Member for Stroud, he feared that nothing of concession or conciliation need be looked for by the Canadians. If they would have and keep Canada a colony for their aggrandisement, they must first solve this difficult problem— to maintain the supremacy of England, and still give satisfaction to the Canadians.—(Cheers.) Until they did this it was useless to speak of the details of its Government. They were in the habit of speaking of the injurious effect produced on the minds of the Canadians by the speeches in Parliament oft hose they termed" the contemptible minority" there, and spoke of so lightly, that he wondered they took the trouble of replying to them ; but he could tell them that the speeches which did most mischief to the cause of the mother country in the minds of the Ca nadians were those which were made against their claims by Hon. Gen_ men opposite. There could not be anything more likely to inflame them to resentment and active opposition than such extracts as the No ble Lord had read from Montesquieu, and applied to the question, as if we were dealing with a nation of serfs.—(Hear, hear, hear.) He con. sidered such speeches more injurious to the cause of the mother coun try, and the all-desired object, conciliation, than those of the most vio lent Radical.—(A laugh.) He should recollect in the midst of the in sulting language indulged in, the possibility of future disputes with the United States, respecting boundaries and tariffs, and various other de bateable points—that we have 1,000 miles of border, with dissatisfied in. habitants—(Hear, hear,)—and that in the event of a war, Canada, in stead of being our strength, may become our weakness.—(Hear, hear.) He thought this Bill would do far more to provoke revolt than to sup. press it. He had abstained on a former occasion from voting with the Hon. Member for Middlesex, having heard that Ministers were prepar ing to send out Lord Durham with full powers to make a conciliatory and satisfactory arrangement, but now he found that the liill under which he must act was one of severity and coercion, and lie had there.. fore arrived at the painful conclusion that it was more than anything else calculated to defeat the objects of his mission, and prolong the un fortunate struggle in which the mother country had engaged with one of the moat important of her cclonies Sir E. SUGDEN said, it was with great surprise that he found that in the speech of the Learned Gentleman the most important parts of the case were kept altogether out of sight—either as not being important in his opinion, or that he felt there was a prudential necessity to hide them.—(Hear.) The principal omission respected the French Cana dians, of whom he (Sir Edward Sugden) had not the slightest wish to speak disrespectfully. Such an argument would be the last to be list ened to in that House, as it had always been the policy of the British Government to keep the French people of Lower Canada a distinct co lony, for political purposes, and to carefully protect the rights they had been guaranteed at the time of the conquest. He therefore regarded them as British subjects, and should speak of them with all possible re spect and consideration. In the framing of the Constitution of 1791 there was a great fault committed in leaving them possessed of the old feudal tenures.—(Hear.) The Noble Lord had truly said that it would have been a difficult task to have ingrafted tree institutions upon the droits des seigneurs, and the most. able men of this country had signally failed in arranging the affairs of that Province. There was almost an impossibility in 1791 of finding a re sident class of persons sufficiently numerous and fit to assume seats in the Upper House. He was convinced that the revolt had been caused by the House of Assembly, and would explain how. The Constitution of 1791 had been framed in imitation of that of this country as nearly as possible, but the House of Assembly are not satisfied. They claim to have a Legislative Council, obedient to, and virtually chosen by, themselves. They desire us to break in upon and open their charter, and have, what the mother country has not, an Upper House elective. They want to have the power of impeaching the Governor and the members of the Executive Council, and to have the judges removable by them. They should recollect that England had the right of domi nion over Canada by conquest, by treaty, and by possession, ere they de manded such things. When the revolt broke out they disclaimed at once the authority of all the ordinary Courts, and erected family or friendly tribunals in lieu, proceedings which clearly indicated either that the Canadian Courts of law were very bad, and ought to be amended at once, or that the people did not know what jus tice was. It might be said that the Canadians were the best judges of what suited themselves ; but that was a popular fallecy, which might be disproved. in abundance of cases, by any intelligent looker-on. As to the right to the local revenues of lands, and which Lord Dorchester had in 1774 committed to the management of the Honse of Assembly, they were clearly vested in the Crown by conquest, and (although ap. propriated to the supply of the wants of the colony) belonged to it as justly and completely as the property of any private gentleman. was so expressly declared in the treaty of 1774, and so provided in the Con sLitution cf 1791, which kept alive the original right in the most spocific terms, declaring that, before anything could be altered, a Bill should be introduced into the House of Assembly, confirmed by the Legislative Council, approved by the Governor, and transmitted to England, to be submitted to both Houses of Parliament, with a stipulation that if either House petitioned the Crown against the allocation no Bill should be passed. Let Canada only consider that the duties established in that colony were dedicated to the payment of the civil officers of the establishment. As to the Act of 1531, that Act was granted under the impression that Canada would agree to the payment of a Civil List. Before that Act thosefunds did not belong to the Crown; but by the Act of 1774 they were dedicated to the payment of the civil Government. The Act of 1631 did not re_ peal the Act of 1774, but only corrected it, and made further provi. sions, by the consent of the local Legislature. Under the Act of 1774 the proper application of the funds was the payment of the Civil List. He would not hesitate to repeal the Act of 1831 ifthe local Legislature consented to the payment of the Civil List. He was rejoiced to hear so many Members speak upon and take an interest in the question, because he should consider it a disgrace if a Bill of this nature were sufrered to pass, as a matter of course.—(Cheers.) He would agree to the passing of the Bill as the only mode of saving a Constitution for the people of Canada. He was desirous that every real grievance which the Cana. dians had to complain of should be remedied, and especially that arising out of the law of common soccege. It was not the practice of the House of Commons or of the British Constitution to stop supplies. This was the exception—not the rule. By that Act the House of As. sembly had at once destroyed the Constitution of Lower Canada, and had rendered the present measure not only justified but necessary. Mr LABOUCHERE had listened with great satisfaction to the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman who had just spoken its a manner worthy of his high profe;sional reputation, and of his character as a British Senator, in liberal, large, conciliatory, and just language.— (Cheers.) Nothing could be more unjust, on the other hand, than what had fagen from the Hon. Member for the City of London (Mr. Grote), who stated that the most harsh language had been used towards the people of Canada from both sides of the House. Now the contrary of this was, in Isis judgment, the fact; for he was bound to say, and he said it with great satisfaction, that all the Gentlemen who had spoken expressed their opinions upon the subject with the utmost calmness towards the colonists. He should for the present only say, that any Constitution given to Canada, to be effective for the purposes of good government, must be founded upon broad principles of liberty. —(Loud cheers.) He drew a wide distinction between the destruc tion and the suspension of a Constitution, and he looked upon it as the most valuable part of the present Bill, that it gave to the Cana dian people the guarantee •of the House of Commons and the Go vernment, that it was intended to revert to a Constitutional Govern ment. Although he looked upon Canada in many points of view as a highly valuable colony of the British empire, yet if he thought that it could not be maintained upon the principles of a free Constitution and Government he would rather give it up than continue to govern it on unworthy principles.—(Cheers.) The conduct of every successive Government in this country he viewed as conciliatory rather than harsh or vigorous towards Canada, and this was confirmed by the events that followed. Much had been said as to the effects of the revolt in Canada on the United States of America, but it was impossible to value too highly the conduct, thelauguage, and the actions of the Government of that great republic on the occasion. They saw that Great Britain had taken an honest and a just course, and they would, he was sure, view with indignation the names of Washington or Franklin used as in citements to revolt by the people of Lower Canada,—(Cheers.) While he concurred in the suppression of revolt, he could not but feel that Canada must be governed upon free and liberal principles.—(Cheers ) Mr. GLADSTONE said that lie could not refuse his acknowledge ment of the fair, open, and consistent mariner in which the Honour able Member for London (Mr. Grote) had expressed his opinion upon this subject on several occasions. A month ago that Hon. Member was in favour of separation, and so he was now. How strangely did this consistency come in contrast with the conduct of the Hon. Genilemen' who sat behind the Hon. Member.—(Cheers.) Before the recess the lion. Member for Leeds (Si: W. Molesworth) spoke of and antici pated nothing but the total defeat of the British troops ; but now all his fond anticipations, he confessed, had vanished, because the reports in the newspapers said that the British troops were successful. Some Hon. Gentlemen had accused the Government of vaci:lation ; but those who didso had better look at home. The lion. Member for Leeds had said that the Judges in Canada would have been independent had not the Colonial Secretary at home rejected a Bill passel fur that purpose by the House of Assembly; but the fact was, that the 'Bill in question only made the Judges nominally inde pendent, making no provi: tea whatever for the payment of their sala ries ; and, besides this objection, the Bill went to give the House of As. sembly the right to dispose of the hereditary revenues of the Crown, The object of the Bill was to vote the salaries of the Judges year after year; but by no means to establish their independence. Mr. Roebuck had said at the Bar that he was the sole advocate of the House of As_ sembly for Lower Cannda—but where did he leave the Hon. Member for London, Leeds, Westminster, Finsbury, and, above all, to come to the climax, the Hon. Member for .Kilkenny?—(A laugh.) Tie Hon. Member for Kilkenny had spoken upon the question every night, even the very last night, when he rose to state that he had nothing to say.— (Laughter.) Mr. Roebuck had not made out that the Legislative Council had rejected any measures that it would have been proper for them do have sanctioned. In any of the grievances whieh were so loudly complained of he had not been able to discover any grounds to deter the House from the course it was proposed to pursue. The Honour. able Baronet the Member for Leeds had alluded to cases of enthar. reseed Judges; but, let him ask, although he had beard of no extra ordinary cases of this nature, were not such embarrassments the natural results of that policy in pursuance of which the House of Assembly had, year after year, withheld from those Judges their well-nierited and hard-earned salaries ?—(Hear, hear.) With respect to the large amount in which the Receiver-General had been a defaulter, that could not fairly be made the groundwork of any charge against the Government. Again, they heard much of the offence given to the Canadians by the resolutions which had passed that House; but it should not be overlooked that if the Legislative Council was wrong before they were passed, those resolutions could not set it right, and that the Acts of the Legislative Counbil were all backed by the Go vernment at home. Many appeals had been made with reference to the similarity of the present case of Canada and that of Ame rica in her struggle for independence. But, in his opinion, those cases were in no way similar.— (Hear, hear.) In the case of America there bad been nopovrerful neighbour to hold out to her the example of anything to be gained by a separation from the mother country; and if there had been one thing more than any other which the Ameri cans at the period alluded to stood in need of, it was a Legislative Coun cil, which might have served them as a rallying point—(Cheers) —and have served thorn, in some measure, to counteract the successful attempts which were made to assert their independence.—(Hear, hear.) But it had been said that Canada had been crippled and restricted in her trade and commerce by her connection with this country, and they had been told of the rapid advances in commerce and general civilization which America had made since the period when she obtained the recognition of her independence. But to this might be opposed the extraordinary in_ crease in the trade and commerce of America during almost a century prior to that event, and while she was attached to the British Crown, and he would especially mention the increased prosperity of Philadel phia among other places. But let the House compare the immense in. crease in the population of Canada with that of America, rapid as it has been since she became independent. Let them not forget that tile population of Lower Canada had, since the year 1775, pulti_ plied itself tenfold —(Hear, hear, hear.) Some Honourable Gen tlemen on the Ministerial side (though he would except from that number the Honourable Member for Taunton, who spoke last) had spoken unfavourably of the conduct of some of the • former Administrations with regard to Canada. Canada, it should be recollected, began her existence as a French Colony, but as much had been urged as to what had and what had not been done to her by this I country since she had belonged to it, he would read to the house the words of M. Papineau himself in his address to the electors of Montreal in July, 1 820—(Hear, hear) —a document of great importance, when it was considered bow great had been the course of conciliation which sue. cessive Governments had adopted towards Canada ever since that period. M. Papineau said— " Each year of his long reign has been marked by new favours bestowed upon the country. * * 4 ° Compare our present Irlppy situation with that of our fathers on the eve of the day when George the Third became the legitimate Monarch. Under the French Government (internally and externally arbitrary and oppressive) the interests of this country had been more frequently neglected and mel_administered than those of any other part of its dependencies. George the Third succeeded Louis the Fifteenth. From that day the reign of the law succeeded to that of violence—from that day the trea_ sures, the navy, and the armies of Great Britain, are mustered to afford us an invincible protection r•.gainst external danger ; from that day the better part of her laws became ours, while our religion, property, and the laws by which they are governed, remain unaltered. Soon after were granted us the privileges of its free Constitution ; an infallible pledge, when acted upon, of our paternal prosperity. Now religious toleration —trial by jury —that wisest of safeguards ever devised for the protec tion of innocence—security against arbitrary imprisonment by the pri vil-ges attached to the writ of habeus corpus—legal and equal security afforded to all in their persons, honour, and property—the right toobey no other laws than those of our own making and choice, expressed through our own representatives—all these advantages have become our birth-right, and shall, I hope, be the lasting inheritance of our posterity. To secure them, let us only act as British subjects and freemen. ' From whom did these words proceed ?—(Hear, hear.) He had not quoted them as coming from the mouth of a Governor of the Prov:nce, but from the same man who was now the agitator and promoter of re volt—(Hear, hear)—and he would put it to the House whether, coming from such a source, they did not °Mr a most useful lesson and atliwil most impaAant information.—(Much cheering.) But, again, he had heard resemblances drawn between the cases of revolt in Lower Canada and that which led to the independence of America. But it appeared that America had many real and practical grievances to complain of when she, took up arms. It appeared from a petition sent to this country from the Congress in October, 1774, that, among many others, the principal grievances complained of were the following:— ` 0 I. Judges appointed during pleasure. " 2. Councillors during pleasure. " 3. Commerce restricted. " 4. Duties imposed. "-5. Stoppage of agents' salaries. " 6. Trial by Jury abolished in many civil cases through extension of the jurisdiction of Admiralty Courts." These were grievances of some importance, but there was still another of which they more especially complained, relative to the Quebec Act, and which they described in the petition as follows : " 7. Act for extending the limits of Quebec, abolishing the English and restoring the French laws, whereby great numbers of British free men are subjected to the latter, and establishing an absolute Govern ment and the Roman Catholic religion throughout those vast regions that border on the westerly and northerly boundaries of the free Pro. tiestant English settlements." This the House would remark, was a complaint of a very different nature from that of the Canadians, who said that they were aggrieved because they were Catholics; whereas the Americans complained, on the contrary, of the predilection that hail been shown to the Catholic Canadians, by their being established on the borders of a Pre te•tant State. With regard to another point, the appropriation of the revenues of the province by the mother country, they had the authority of Dr. Franklin—(Hear, hear) —for its having been perfectly justifiab!e in the prevent instance. Dr. Franklin was examined before' a committee upon matters relating to the Stamp Act, in 1766, and in the appendix to the Report were to be found the following sentiments of that eminent man and others upon this subject : " They could not suppose such a case as that the Assembly would not raise the necessary supplies to support its own Government. An Assembly that would refuse it must want common sense, which cannot be supposed. If an Assembly could possibly be so absurd as to refuse raising the supplies requisite for the maintenance of Government among them they could not long remain in such a situation—the dis order and confusion created by it must soon bring them to reason." But in the course of that examination this question was put to Dr. Franklin : Q. `• But if it should (i. e., in the case of America), ought not the right to be in Great Britain of applying the remedy? A. " A right to be used only in such case I should have no objection to ; supposing it to used merely for the good of the people of the co lony."—( Great cheering.) They had, then, the opinion of Dr. Franklin on an express case, and with his reason and authority they might be satisfied upon that point. Ile looked forward with confidence to the result of the contest. In the breach they stood; and he cared not for the allusion to tile " time when the last British ship" should be seen to leave the Canadian coast, (Great cheering.) He apprehended, however, that no such case would ever yet occur. He should be glad to have it shown that they had caused the stoppage in the course of justice which had taken place in Canada. He could not consider that the fault rested with the Noble Lord opposite am' his Government.—(Great cheering.) It had been en some former occasion suggested that the Constitution of 1831 should be repealed, and it appeared to him that, with ordinary vigilance on the part of the Executive, all the blood which had been shed might have been spared.—(Hear, hear.) What had been the course Lord Go ford hadadopted ? He was ready to own that that Noble Lord had been in a difficult position.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") He further complained that the Noble Lord had sent home the most contradic. tory statements.—(Much cheering.) In his despatch of the 2d of September Lord Gosford placed two of these contradictory statements side by side in the same letter. The Noble Lord there said "I do not conceive there is any ground for alarm ;" and four lines below—" I am disposed to think you may be under the necessity of suspending the Constitution.• —(Cheers and laughter.) Now it appeared to him (Mr. Gladstone) impossible that boils these positions could be maintained. In his despatch of the 6th of November Lord Gosford for the first time stated the existence of any real disturbance ; but long before that period there had been a letter from Sir John Colborne, in which the decided character of the revolt was made known.—(Hear, hear.) lie was asto. nished that correspondence had not been sent to the Home Government --(Hear, hear)—and could not find words to express his surprise that no pains had been taken by the Government at home to ascertain from other authorities, the real circumstances in which the colony was placed. It had been said by a Noble Lord on the other side, that "soldiers could not put a stop to the making of speeches and the passing of resolu lutions" at political meetings, but it appeared that certain marchings and drillings had taken place—(Hear)—and he must say that they ought to have beets prevented by the interference of a military force.—(Cheers.) It was no matter to him whether there were 20,000 or 50,000 soldiers in Canada, if they were not used; and no one had yet said that Lord Gosford employed even the force which he had at command to suppress the preparations which were se notoriously making for the outoreak.— (Hear, hear.) It was possible that the three which lie had at his dis. posal was quite sufficient to put a stop to drillings, which tended to nothing but violence and revolution. But had Lord Gosford used that force for any such purpose 1' He had not. It was a fact undeniable that illegal practices had been permitted—that violence had been sus tained by the peaceful inhabitants of the province —and set Lord Gosford neither interfered himself nor sent information on this übj ec t to the Government at home, until he was obliged to 84 that such illegal practices were going on every Sunday, and had been going on for some time.—(Hear, hear.) He believed he way justified in saying that her Majesty's Gohrnment had made themselves responsible for the acts of Lord Gosford. They had done so in the dis patch in which Lord Glenelg accepted the resignation of Lord Gosford, and in which the singular remark occurred that Lord Gosford had been " so mixed up with the previous events" that his retirement was de sirable. If this argument applied to Lord Gosford, he (Mr. Gladstone) must say that it applied with tenfold force to Lord Glenelg himself. He would now return to the question of the necessity of the present mea sure. Some might question the propriety of suspending the Constitu tion of Canada ; but he had no such scruples, because virtually the Con stitution of Canada was already suspended. Evidence of this fact was, singularly enough, afforded by the insurgents themselves, inasmuch as it was at one of their public meetings resolved, " That it is the opinion of this meeting that the Provincial Legislature exists only in name, and that it is nullified in fact." This being the case, it became them to provide for the Government of that Colony ; and therefore it was that he was ready to make such a provision by giving his assent to the present to the present Bill- He was surprised at the reception which the Radi cals had given to the announcement of the Bill, when he looked beck to what had occurred at the time the Irish Coercion Bill was intro duced —(Heer, hear.) '1 hey now had a Bill ten-fold more arbitrary in its object and provisions than the Coercion Bill, and yet there were scarcely six men in that House—all of them disavowed by Mr. Roebu out of it—who objected to the measure. The name of Lord Durham seemed to operate on the minds 4 of H on. Members opposite w ith a magi cal influence. His apparition, like the twin star of old, when it shone out, seemed to subdue the tempest which the Hon. Members opposite had raised against the granting of arbitrary power— " Concidunt venti, fugiuntque nubes." When arbitrary power was placed in the hands of one of their own party they had nothing to complain of, and in their estimation it then was nothing snore than wreaths of flowers.—(Hear, hear.) This Bill conferred more arbitrary power than any measure which he recollected, but still ho objection was made to it by the Ilonourable Members on the other side of the House. 'That was not the proper time for entering into the details of this Bill, and, therefore, he should at present cen tent himself by hoping that its provisions would be modified in the Com mittee. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that there was no Individual Member of that Government who was not disposed to be re sponsible for every act which Lord Gosford had done.—(Hear, hear ) The Government stood pledged to every application of the powers which they had placed in Lord GoslJrd's hands; and no one felt more pleasure VIE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, in speaking in praise of Lord Gosford than he (the Chancellor of the Excliecee. - ) diJ, because they had alwes7s a:‘ted terri ses, an d i n th c same poll: ic principles. But had the lion. Geetleman dealt fairly by the despatches of Lord Gosford ? He referred to the letter written by Lord Gosford on the 2d of September, and asked what could be more unconstit etional than in one part of it saying that no danger was to be aeprelientled, end in another suggesting the possibility of such a result a; the suspension of the Constitution being necessary. Now, if the Honourable Gentleman had attended with the same pleasure and instruction to the speech made by an Honourable and Learned Member on his own side of the House. that he had listened to his, he would have been able to see the distinction and the ease by which his cbjection could be answered. The present measure was less called for, in point of tact, by the revolt titan by the nesessity for carrying on the Civil Government of Canada, and restoring to the ad ministrators of the law their ordinary functions. But what was it that Lord Gosford stated ? Why, he said that he apprehended no immediate danger—that he did not believe that resort would be had to physical ' force—and it was quite consistent with this is state, that if physical force were resorted to, if such an event as an outbreak were to take place, -then, that there would be a necessity on the part of Government to resort to new measures, and even to suspend the Constitution. They should not forget that all the functions of the Civil Government in Canada had been suspended, that the Canadians had refused to abide by the ordinary tribunals. that they had elected Justices of the Peace of their own, and that they had declined obedience to the officersappointed by the Government to command the militia, and that they had elected militia racers for themselves. When all these things had happened, had he net a right to ask wheiher something was not required to be done, whether it was not necessary to have recourse to some measure for suspending the authority of a Constitution which was deemed no longer binding ? If this distinction then, applied to Lord Gosford's reasoning, was anything more natural than that, while he denied the probability of physi cal force being resorted to, he should assent to the propriety of that House interposing, in case such an event should arise ? He rejoiced that the Hon. Gentleman had brought those charges against Lord Gosford—he rejoiced that he had brought those charges against the Government— because the House must be convinced, that, so far from their having acted in a precipitate manner, they had not only exercised, but he might say exhausted, all the forbearance that could be expected from them.— (Hear.) He could state that from neither of theprovinces of Canada had any complaint been made on account of the want of a sufficient military forme, and that, in fact, the Government had in this respect anticipate,' I their wishes. If the Duke of Wellington at home, and Sir John Col borne a`,road, imputed no blame to the Government on this head, he thought they might well withstand the taunts which the Hon. Gentle . • . lean had 'evelled at them, and doubt the authorities on whose informa tion he acted.—(Hear, hear.) If the authorities most competent to form a correct judgment on the subject had not been with them—if they had sent out a military force prematurely—not to suppress disorders, but for political purposes--if, he said, they had done this, and an outbreak had ensued, then he would have felt the responsibility which the Government had incurred, and, instead of meeting them as he did, would have shrunk from the taunts of the lion. Gentleman.—(Hear, hear.) He would not go into the details or - merits of the question, because, with two exceptions, an parties were agreed that the coarse which the Government had taken was necessary, and that with respect to the leading principle of the Bill—the suspension of the COnstitution of Canada—there was no difeereece of opinion on either side of the House. Under such circumstances, it would ill be come hint to occupy the attention of the House longer, but he hoped they would excuse him if he took that opportunity of set ting himself right with respect to one portion of the argument used by Mr Roebuck at the bar of that House. He did not do so, he coold assure them, because it was a matter relating to him_ self, but because he wished the House to be able to judge from a single illustration what the value was that they were to fix in the way of fairness on the justice of the reasoning contained in that Learned • Gentleman's statements. Mr. Roebuck stated, in reference to the period when he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) was Colonial Secre tary, that he had practised a delusion on the Canadian deputies which misled them. On the former occasion he was able to discuss the ques tion face to face with Mr. Roebuck, but, without intending to say any thing acrimonious, he was anxious to set the House right as to the real facts. He accepted office in April, 1834, the Canadian Committee was • then sitting, and the two deputies, Mr. Morin and Mr. Viger, were in London. At that time a Bill was pending for the suspension of Lord Ripon's Act, and of course on receiving the seals, he, in virtue of his office, became a member of the Committee. He had great reluctance to receive tee deputation, but he did so at the pressing solicitation of several members of the Committee. He received them alone, without any other party being present, and stated to them his unwillingness to carry on the Bill until he had obtained a more accurate knowledge of Canadian affairs than he then possessed, or than he could have obtained within the space of one short week. He told them that he wished to be able to form a proper judgment of Canadian af fairs before he proceeded with any measure, and then said to them, " Will you say that in the meantime the House of Assem bly will pass the supplies necessary for the payment of the ar rears due to the officers of civil Government ?" They told him they had no doubt that the supplies would be passed, and he stated then that he disapproved of the course taken by Lord Dalhousie, and did not mean to have recourse to any such line of conduct. He had kept his word, but it was hardly to be believed that these same gentlemen made this private communication public in the American newspapers the in. stant they' retired, and thereby committed a breach of their solemn word, at the same time stating that which was absolutely untrue, al though the same thing had been suggested in subsequent debates. It was said that he had promised them distinctly that this money should not be Feed out of the funds at the disposal of the mother country; but it was somewhat remarkable that his dispatch to a contrary effect was laid before the Ilouse of Assembly the instant it met. Could it be be lieved, though it were asserted by twenty Mr. florins and Mr. Vigers, that he would have violated his engagements with these persons, or one word more to offer with regard to the charges which Mr. any other parties ?—(Hear, hear.) So much for this. He hail but Roebuck had brought against the Government of the mother country for having opposed the Canadians from the period of the conquest down to the present time. The argument of the Learned Gentlemen was successfully answered by the eonelusion to be drawn from this evidence of Dr. Franklin—evidence that was hnportant then, but woule be of still more importance in that country to which it so immediately related, and where he hoped it would soon find its way. He, however, could find another witness to refute this argument—not one com Parable with Doctor Franklin, though one, perhaps, quite as important for the present purpose. This witness, so late tea 1834, stated his earnest and anxious wish to have the recommendations of the Com inittee of 1828 relating to Canada carries( into effect, and that the Go vernment of this country had always been unremitting in their desire to promote the interests of the Colony. He could not express more approbation of the measures of 1828 and 1834 than this witness did, and the House, no doubt, would be surprised to learn that the witness then a elsmber of that House and of tke Committee.--(flear, hear.) to whom he referred was no other than Mr. Roebuck himself, who was He thought he had now vindicated both Lord Gnsford and the Govern ment, and he had merely called the attention of the House to those wished to cite the authority of that Learned Gentleman a ga in s t himself.—(Hear.) points which had been used o n the other side by Mr. Roebuck, as he Sir It. FEEL—Sir, it is my intention, after mature reflection, and not without great reluctance, to give my support to the present propo sition. Sir, I g i ve my support to it b ecause I can find no safe alterna tive to which I can resort. If i doubt the justice of the measure—if I saw any other mode of escaping front the difficulties in which the Go vernment of Lower Canada is involved—l do not hesitate to say that I would refuse my assent. But, Sir, I consider the measure justifiable, not only in point of equity, but also on account of the conduct of the Canadian Assembly ; and as a matter of prudence I can see no other course that I can pursue. The question, Sir, now is, what is time course which we should pursue ? Shall the people of England be called upon to b ear th is burthen ?—(Hear.) It is i m p oss ibl e t o of the land an d th e other officers on whom of the Colony itself dep en d s. f or an indefinite time in the leave administration cf the G overnment devolves, and on whom catitution. — (Hear, hear, hea r .) O n w h om ought this a thi s t ta s t u e ce o e f ss • charge to ih p Is it, Sir, fair th at the people of this country should take upon themselves the oayment of the salaries of those officers? Is it not clear th at the p eo ple who are interested, an d f or w h ose Go vernment e Sir, if it were a mer e suspens i on of an ordinary right I should not on that gr o und have supported any measure f or t h e annihi lation of the Cer adian Cons titution. But what was th e groun d u p on r hetir. ) hear, the e xpense is incu rre d , s h ould bear the charge?--(Hear, which the supplies were refused ? Why the express ground upon which they were refused was this We will not pay the public officers their salaries. eve will suspend the whole machicery of the Government, unless you consent to a fundamental change in the Constitution," Sir, I do not hesi t ate to sa y that thi s is an unjust conditi on t o a tt ac h t o th e Constitution ip)aenynsitoeiiiit of the Constit o f the officers of the Governm en t . In my opinion, a sus. is by no means the necessary consequ e nce of a revolt. If a revolt ta kes place there are o th er means t o b e r esor t e d to, to restore tranquility and establish your authority, be sides a suspension of the p ower s of the Constitutio n . I sa y , if your ground for the presen t me asure simply rest e d on t h e ex i stence of a re volt your first c ourse ought t o b e to vindicate the law—to take proper me asu res to repress disaffection—to arrest those wh o re b e ll e d aga i nst the authority of the Crown—and to b r i ng t h e gu i lty to punishment. It is by such as these —by the o rdinary means resorted t o, t o repress di,afrertinn an d put down resistance, to encourage the loyal and punish the guilty'—that a revolt should be met, Well, then, what is the next course that you might pursue? Would you ad v i se t h e di sso l ution of the present Assembly, the present ex c ited state of the colony ? Would this be a co urse p ro p e r to be pursued? I say, certa i n l y not. Such a course is one which no prudent man would advise. d you, then, advise the course of leavi ng t h e present Assembly in the pos. . session of all its powers—of all the authority which it possesses, but that you should suspend its functions, and nut call it together, taking away by taw the power that renders it necessary to be called together once a year? • In snch a case it would be necessary to obtain a power to carry on the local affairs of the colony, and also to g i v e a pr xer to the Executive Government to controul the disposal of tile public money, which would otherwise hive to he voted by the House of Assembly. Now, it appears to me that this is the most ob jectionah!e coarse that you could pursue. It appears to me that, great „ a is the difficulty that may arise from the proceedings we are about to p ursue, yet, upon the whole, considering the present state of public t ocling in Canada -- considering the present agitated state of the public mind, that p rovin ce — considering the disposition which has been m anifested on the part of the Assembly, that thee are not prepared to cooperate with tus in carrying on the local government of the colony, unless upon conditions to which we have declared that w e cannot submit —I say, Sir, admitting the full force of all these considerations, I have reluctantly come to the conclu sion that there is no other course which we could safely pursue unless suspending the Constitution of Lower Canada for a limited period, and snaking a temporary provision for a limited period for carrying on the Government of that co untry.—(Hear, hear.) On these grounds, Sir, do I glee 1 "Y consent to what I apprehend to be the main principle and object of the Bid, namely, the suspensions, for a limited perioe, of the Constitution of Lower Canada, and the temporary devoletion during such limited period to a Governor, to be appointed by the Crown, of suf ficient power to enable such Governor to administer the affeirs of that province. I will withhold no power from the individual se appointed on account of any difference of political opinion ; but whilst I am pre. pared to concede all just and necessary power, I will never consent to confer cite iota of Power beyond what appears to be required by the na.. tune and exigency of the case.—(Loud cheers.) In a matter of such great emsreeoey, personal character and the liberal opinions of a Chief Governor sink into insignificance compared with the great constitutional question at issue. • The Bill allows Lord Durham, with the advice of certain Councillors, to make ordinance; for the Government of the co l o ny. I can not consent to confer any thing that gives a power to make a provision for the permanent Government of the Colony. I will not allow to him or his Councillors any power which is not of a temporary nature. To this part of the Bill I, for one, will never give my c onsent.—(Cheers.) If I stand alone, I will oppose those Part*. 0 1' the Bill, and I claim from the House of Commons-- f r om men of all p art i es, so much adherence to constitutional priviliges and principles as will not permit the extension of any pdwers which have not been shown to be justified by peculiar necessity.—(Cheers.) It is my intention to propose that we shall emit front the Bill that part in which are celled upon to recognise a certain Assembly which is to he called together by Lord Durham, and which is to:possess a certain re presentative character.—(Hear, hear.) I trust you will not be led away by any plausibilities from duly weighing the oh_ . jeetiw" to this proposition—l trust you yell not' reject the are guments that may be urged against this part of the Bill, until you have duly considered their impor,ance and effect. Here, then, i s a Bill which goes to suspend the Constitution of Canada, and to annihilate the entire constitutional Assembly of that pro_ since. '.ehet Assembly under the law and the Constitution, is the only representative of the feelings, opinions, and interests of the people of that colony. How, then, shall we be called on to admit any assembly consisting el' other persons as representing the interests and opinions of her elaests's subjects in that province.—(]dear.) If a representative body is necessary to carry on the affairs of Lower Canada at the present ' oBe crisis, why sus:send the Constitution ?—(Cheers.) But, supposing that • the ground of objection was removed with respect to Lower Canada, • what has Upper Canada done to justify the suspension of the Constitu tion there ? We should not let any considerations of the high character of Lord Durham, or any liberal opinions. he may entertain, reconcile us to the departure from constitutional principles, which, in the case of Upper Canada, is as indefensible as any arbitrary act of any despot in existence.—(Loud cheers.) lam not ready to grant powers to the ex tent to which they are demanded by the details of the Bill. Though I should stand by myself, I will never consent to any measure which, with out any sufficient grounds, goes to suspend the Constitution of Upper Canada. If the prerogative of, the Crown was thought by her Ma jesty's Government sufficient to justify them in the proceed ing, why did they not undertake to act upon their own responsibi lity ?—(Hear, hear.) Why did they not do this in preference to taking the tortuous course they have adopted of coming to this House and calling on the House to support their dubious exercise of prerogative —not by direct enactment, not by the insertion of a clause in the Bill, but by an admission dexterously thrust into the preamb e. I know that my object in urging these objections on Constitutional grounds may be misrepresented. I know it will be said that in taking this course I want to prevent a free Constitution from being granted t o Canada. But Ido not wish any such thing—'4Hear, hear)—l have no such intention. I believe that we cannot govern that Province either for its own interest or our own, without establishing a Constitution on a representative principle. It is far from mo wish to throw any impu tation upon that principle. But, Sir, what is st ill more objectionable in this Bill is, .that it gives to the Crown the power to repeal an Act of Parliament. This certainly appears to me a most extraordinary viola tion of the Constitutional principle. But let me point out the way in which this is done. In the enacting Clause it is proposed that the Crown shall have the po ver to repeal this Act of Parliament, whilst:or. the marginal note it is merely mentioned that such a power shall be vested in the Crown when Parliament is not sitting. The enacting part gives the power to the Crown at all times. Now, from this discrepancy it is evi dent that a change had taken place in the intentions of her Majesty's Ministers in this respect since the Bill was first drawn up. I object to conferring such a power this. I care not for the distinction of whether Parliament be sitting or not, but I never will consent that the Crown shall have the power to annihilate the Constitution of Canada, and then have the power of restoring it without any concurrence on the part of Parliament. To deprive her of her Constitution by law and restore it by prerogative would be a still further and too dangerous advance in the departure from the constitutional principle. We should for our own sakes look further, and beyond:what was merely justified by the necessity of the case.--(Hear, hear.) There is another clause, the effect of which Ido not perfectly understand. It confers upon the Governor a righ to call together a Council, and confines the right of originating any proposition to the only person who, having only just arrived from England, may ba supposed to know least of the local affairs of the Colony. It appears that the clause defining the functions of this Council leaves to no person but the Governor a right to make any proposition. No man is no open his lips for the purpose of expressing any proposition whatever. On the subject of re gulating the local affairs of the colony, the only person who shall utter a proposition is the person who, having just arrived from England, may be supposed to know less cf these affairs than any one else.—(Cheers )„ I shall enter into the discussion of no other clause of the Bill at present, but I consider it right to give notice that it is my intention to propose several amendments of the Bill in important particulars. I now turn to another part of the subject. In the course of the debate, reference was made to the conduct of her Majesty's Government, with respect to their neglecting to have made a proper disposition of military force, with re spect to the recent occurrences in Canada. On that part of the case the Right Hon. Gentleman who last addressed the House referred with con- fidence to the speech made by my Noble Friend the Duke of Welling_ ton. Now, Ido not think that anything said by my Noble Friend bears out the Right Hoe. Gentleman in the reliance that he has placed on it with respect to this point. I must say, thst having listened atten tively to the Right /lon. Gentleman's argument, the case of the Government appears to be most lamentably deficient. The Right Hon. Gentleman says that it Is at least a satisfaction to her Ma_ jesty's Government to know that they arc not charged with precipi tation—that there is no imputation upon them of having exercised the powers of the Government with tyranny or severity—that, in point of fact, the whole charge against the Government is an excess of lenity and conciliation. The Right Hon. Gentleman certainly was not at liberty to prefer an indictment against himself. laugh.) But the Right Hon. Gentleman is mistaken. The charge against the Go vernment is, not that they pushed their conciliation too far, but that they spoiled the effect of it by their other proceedings, and that they neutralised any vigour that might have been adopted by the manner in which they applied their conciliation. In fact, they were 'wither consistent in their conciliation nor consistent in their vigour. After the high and meritel compliment which the Right Hon. Gentle man paid to my Noble Friend the Duke of Wellington he would the more readily admit the force of his charge against the Government on this point, and the Right Hon. Gentleman will allow me to remind him that that charge was, that, though there was a sufficient number of troops in Canada, yet that, having withdrawn troops from New truns wick and Nova Scotia, the Government ought to have supplied the va cancy occasioned by the withdrawal of those troops. Let me tell her Majesty's Government that the military authority on which they rested their vindication was that on which the charge against them rests. But supposing the defence en this point were even possible and successful, it is not the important point. My Honourable Friend the Member for Newark, in his very forcible speech, very truly stated that this is not a military question. It is a question of which every civilian is equally competent to judge whether, after what occurred last year, and in the excited state of the public mind in Canada, any rational man would not consider whether the course which we took, and the Resolutions which this House adopted, might not be calculated to aggravate the existing excitement. Ido not by any means doubt but there was in Canada a force sufficient to suppress any revolt ; but that was not sufficient. No doubt every man of proper feelings must rejoice at the success of the Queen's troops; but it would be more gratifying if their success was gained (as we understood the Right Hon. Baronet) fighting against a different enemy. Looking forward to what feelings those scenes of slaughter may give rise to, I cannot but deeply lament that a want of due precaution should have led to such a shedding of blood, when, by a timely display of Military force, it would be possible to avert that ne cessity.—(Hear, hear.) My Hon. Friend the Member for Newark had referred to a despatch of Lord Gosford's, in which that Noble Lord, in one paragraph stated that there was no danger of commotion, and in another part of the same despatch said that the suspension of the Con stitution might become necessary.—(A laugh.) I have, however, been more successful than my Hon. Friend, for I have foutid two contradictory statements in the same paragraph.—(The Right Hon. Baronet here quoted from a despatch of Earl Gosford a paragraph containing two con tradictory statements and opinions, and which produced much cheering and laughter.) In the forme: part of the paragraph the Noble Lord says he sees no danger of commotion, and in the next lie says it is impossible to set the limits to which their proceedings might extend. I say, with respect to the military force, that its vigour was neutralized by the proceedings which accompanied it; and I must also say that con- ciliation lost much of its effect by the tedious delay with which it was adopted.—(Hear, hear.) You say we took part in adopting these reso lutions. The most important of these resolutions was that which pro_ ♦ided for the necessary expenses of the Province. We did; but you should have accompanied that demonstration of vigour with some act of grace. You invited us to accede to two resolutions : one of which went to improve the composition of the legislative body. Was it not rational, when you communicated to tie Canadians this, your measure of violence, that you should also have been ready to communicate the perfection of your measure of grace, which we had also adopted ? Hear, hear.) If not ready with your measure for the improvement of the Council, why suspend the Assembly? Why, after the House of Commons had approved of an alteration in the composition of the Legislative Council, allow your Governor to say, in answer to the ap- plication of the Canadians, that he had nothing then to say on the sub ject—that the matter was still under cansideration ?—(Hear, hear.) . . NVhy withhold the promised redress, when you inform the Canadians that you were going to take possession of their money? Look to the dispatches of Lord Glenelg, and of his worthy echo, Lord Gosford.— (Hear, hear.) There is not throughout the whole series of dispatches, although there are many declarations that the " time for vacillation is past," that " we must now act with vigour," one act of vigour indi cated except in that which accepted of the resignation of the Governor. —(1 - lear, hear.) Why, you seem to have governed your colonies alto gether through the medium of recalled Governors, Sir John Colborne was recalled from Upper Canada—also Sir F. Head. Colonel Arthur was recalled from Van Diemen's Land, and Lord Gosford from Lower Canada.—(Laughter.) Sir, with respect to the Executive and Legis lative Councils, you sent out three Commissioners. They made a report on the state of the Executive Council, and suggested an im provement. This was in 1836, and on the 14th of June, 1837, fif teen months after, Lord Glene'g stated that he had no serious doubts of the wisdom of the suggestion.—(Hear, hear, hear, and laughter.) What waa the cause of the delay ? 'rhet c was no difficulty in getting _ - men to introduce into the Council, but Lord Gleneig only enlightens us by saying that "it was impossible to acquiesce in further delay," Our charge is, not that you have been acting with too much forbearance, but that you have omitted to make those timely demonstrations of vigour which would have been true lenity. We do say that it was this delay which prepared the public mind in Canada for the present outbreak ; for that outbreak I do believe her Majesty's Ministers to be deeply re- sponsible.—(licar.) L'ird J. RUSSELL said that with respect to the measure before the House, he would ask had those who most opposed it suggested any ra. tional plan in its stead?—(Hear, hear.) They must admit that some thing was necessary. Even admitting that the Legislative Council was wholly to blame, and that the House of Assembly was entirely blame less, yet the House had, by their own confession, admitted that if the Legislative Council were again convened the result would be the st p page of all legislation, the refusal by the Assembly of the supplies necessary to carry on the Government, and the total absence of the laws necessary for the well-being of the community. In this state of things the Honourable Gentleman who opposed the pro position did not seem to suggest anything but that the House of Assembly should be again brought together, and that new discord and difficulty should be allowed to arise. One pact alone of the Government pla❑ were they willing to consent to; and that was, that Lord Durham should go to Canada. But they would deprive him of all power ; they would send him as a mere spectator of the battle be. tween to o adverse parties, with an utter hopelessness of bringing matters to a conch:slot - 1. Though these Hon. Gentlemen proposed no alterna tive, their speeches did not certainly lead to the inference that some ex traordinary power was not necessary. The Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, in going into the imendrnents he intended to propose, stated his strong objections to part of this Bill, and ha (Lord John Rus- sell) must say, that iA stating these objections, the Right Hon. Gentleman had dealt in a greater degree of exaggeration than he had ever before indulged in. He stated that Government was acting on de lusive grounds—on n pretence of liberality—and putting certain provi- sions into the Bill which did not properly belong to it, In his (Lord J. R.'s) op , nion, the grounds of the Bill were perfectly natural and simple. Nothing could be more natural than this—to say that for a long time dissensions had prevailed in Canada—that they found it impossible to bring matters to an amicable termination—that the malcontents !n al at last proceeded to revolt, and that the revolt should be first suppressed, and that then they should proceed to adopt measures for the production of a better state of things, In order to do this latter they intended to call in the aid and advice of persons resident in, and perfectly well ac quainted with the wants and feelings of the province, and to learn from them what measures they thought likely to restore tranquillity. Was this false pretence ? Were these delusive grounds I He owned that it seemed to bins that Hon. Gentlemen wished to fasten on the Bill a character not belonging to it, in order to furnish themselves with some feasible grounds for opposition to it. He had seen that evening symp. toms of a sort of coquetry which was not now exhibited for the first time on the part of a Right Hon. Gentleman opposite. He had been passing very marked compliments on the speech of the Host. Member far London.—(No.) There was a matter the Right Hon. Gentleman had not taken notice of, which he (Lord J. Russell) had stated expressly. He stated that this•Covemittee which was to be assembled was not to have any legislative power.—(Hear, hear.) He stated that he considered it absolutely necesssary that the supreme legislative controul should rest with Parliament, where the Constitution had placed i 1. TheKe , was thus a total difference between the body which the Govermaerit would have the power to assemble and one whirls met f)r tile rAsrpose of legislation. The Right Honourable Gentleman in sp.le of his (Lora J. Russell's) statement to this effect, had spoke:), to-nigh.; as if the Governor and the Committee intended to ockroyer a Con.. stitution.—(Sir R. Peel—" No, no.) The Right Honourabl,. Gen, tleman had certainly used the word. (We understood Sir I&abertt Peel to deny having used it thus.) The great wmttev for Parliament to consider was the necessity of the case. If the ne cesoity did not exist the Bill would not have been demanded, but when they did demand such despotic authority he (Lord J. Russell) thought It necessary that Parliament should know that they only sought a temporary power, and that the paramount wish of the Government was to have a free Constitution established in Canada.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Honourable Gentleman had gone on to find. fault with a provision of the Bill giving a power to the Queen in,t; Council to suspend its operations for a time, and coetendee that they wished to suspend the Constitution of Upper Canada. Why, the Bill contemplated no interference with the Constitution of Upper Canada. With respect to the ordinary working of that Constitution, it would not . be interfered with in the least.—(Cries of" Hear, hear.") Neither did they propose that the Assembly should be deprived of any of the privileges it enjoyed; on the contrary, they proposed that as the people of Upper Canada had long complained, and justly com plained, of the manner in which their trade was interfered with, and their navigatiOn impeded, by the regulation of the Lower Pro. vince, they proposed that ten persons should be selected from the Upper Province to farm part of the Committee; and to provide for the remedy of these ''grievances.—(Hear.) With respect to the - other ground of objection, to the power proposed to be given to the Queen in Council, he saw no reason, although this was a very great power, that it should not be given when necessary. But when the Right Hon. Gentleman brought forward his* amendments it would then be competent for him (Lord J. Russell) to answer them. The Right Hon. Gentleman had gone on to censure the conduct of Go vernment. With respect to his first complaint, that of the want of sufficient force, he (Lord J. Russell) did say that, notwithstanding what had been said by the Hon. Member for Newark, the Right Hon. Gentleman was not successful in quoting the Duke of Wellington on ' that head. It was not the first time, when party topics ran high—when the election batteries were mounted—when it suited a party purpose to quote the Duke, that all of a sudden a plain declaration from himself completely discountenanced all their assertions.—(Ministerial cheers.) The Right Hon. Gentleman had made another charge. He said that not only had Government displayed a want of vigour in not having a sufficient number of troops in Canada, but they had not adopted concilia. tory measures at a proper season. With respect to that subject, he must say that, although it was not very difficult for Hon. Gentlemen reading the dispatches to find fault with them, yet he thought they formed a full and complete defence for Lord Glenelg, for Lord Gos. ford, and for the Government. A Noble Lord, sitting opposite, had thought proper to criticise the dispatch of Lords Glenelg and Gosford. With respect to those dispatches they related to matters of great importance, but required often to be written in such haste as to render careful composition impossible. The Noble Lord had also talked of what he was pleased to call the sickly sentimen tality of some of those despatches. He (Lord John Russell) remem bered an address of that Noble Lord's to the electors of North Lan cashire, which address was very sentimental, and at the same time exceedingly obscure. A friend of his, to whom he complained of its obscurity, told him that he could explain the matter at once—that it was merely a translation from the German.—(Laughter.) He only wished to show that if they were to criticise so minutely public docu ments the Noble Lord was as liable as others to have his compositions censured for the sickly sentimentality he complained of.—(Hear, hear.) He could not conclude what he had to say without adverting to some observations of the Hon. Member for London. That Hon. Member had complained of the Government measure—he talked of the harm it would do. If he (Lord John Russell) did any harm it would not be by the fair expression of his opinions, the harm would be done by the distorted manner in which they were represented. That Hon. Member had said that he (Lord J. Russell) had refused to reform the Legislative Council ; what was the fact ? When Mr. Roebuck had pro. posed a plan of his own for that purpose he (Lord J. Russell) said that, although he thought it wou"d be rash to adopt that plan, yet that if the • Assembly would propose a rational plan the Government would not stand in the way of its adoption; yet still the Hon. Member would represent him as an enemy to Reform, and on that he framed his speech. Now with regard to the whole of this subject and the instructions which had been given to Lord Durham, he would take the liberty of saving a few words. There was a time when England was comparatively confined to the bounds of her own dominions—when she had no need to think of any thing beyond her own laws, her own usages, her own religion, and when it was desirable that all should be peculiarly English. There was another period when, by the force of her arms and the ex. tent of her conquests, she kept possession of a great part of the world against all invaders and enemies. —(Hear, hear, hear.) Both these periods had passed. It was not now the policy of this country, with its great and extended dominion, to enforce English laws and English customs throughout them all.—(Hear, hear.) Nor did they pretend—and God forbid they should pretend—to keep those possessions in subjection by the mere force of arms! There was then a third system, which it seemed more wise, more just, and more politic to pursue. Having acquired large possessions by various wars, and by the efforts of powerful men from Cromwell to Marlborough, and from Marlborough to Wellington, it was desirable carefully to consider the peculiar usages, the peculiar wants, the religious habits, and the peculiar aptitudes of the people over whom they ruled, so as to take such measures as would be best calculated to conciliate their good opinion. When revo lutions were to be quelled, let the necessary measures for quelling them be adopted—(Hear, hear)- 7 -but when a permanent Govern ment was to be established, let everything be done to ascertain the just expectations and wishes of the people, and let this country for no paltry object of its own impose upon them institutions which might prove unpalatable or intolerant.--(Cheers.) If there were any per son who could devise a better mode of proceeding, let it be proposed; but the plan which he presented appeared to him to be the best mode of attaining this most desirable result. He would conclude by stating, that his great and paramount desire was to avoid maintaining the do. minion of this country over the Province in any ether way than that which would prove permanently advantageous and happy to the latter, at the same time that it proved honourable to both.—(Cheers.) Mr. WARBURTON, who rose amid loud cries of "Divide," was un. derstood to say that many Hon. Members on that side of the House who had not yet expressed their opinion upon the subject, and yet who did not wish to interfere with the division, would avail themselves of an opportunity in some future stage of the question. The House then divided, when there appeared- e s For going into Committee For the Amendment l6 Majority ---246 Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved that the further consideration of the Bill take precedence of all other business on Thursday. Mr. WAKLEY, having a motion on the paper for that day for a Se. lect Committee to inquire into the constitutisn of a society in Glas gow, under the title of the " Association of Operative Cotton Spin ners of Glasgow and its neighbourhood,'' could not agree to the mo. Lion of the Noble Lord unless he had a pledge that the men lately sentenced to transportation should not be sent out of the country before that motion same on. Lord J. RUSSELL would not give a pledge, but ho did not think it possible that these own could leave the country before the expiratiou of a week. Mr. WA KLEY, not getting a pledge, would divide the House on the motion of the Noble Lord. The House then divided, when there appeared— For the motion. Against it .. 101 Majority -95 On our return to the gallery we found Mr. WAKLEY inquiring of the Noble Secretary for the Home De partment what time the Lord Advocate was likely to be in London, as it had been said that his (Mr. W.'s) motion was one which ought not to be discussed but in his presence. Lord J. RUSSELL was understood to say that he was not then pre pared to answer. Mr. HAWES said it would be well to have the last division pro. perly understood. For his own part he did not see what the motion of the Hon. Member for Finsbury had to do with the sentence on the Glasgow Weavers, and it was because he could not see this that he had voted against him. Mr. WAKLEY said if the Hon. Gentleman had voted with him he would be able to show the connexion. Thr House then adjourned, at a Quarter past Two, until Thursday to.morrow). Lord Meadowbank and Sir F. Chantrey had aH in terview with the President of the Board of Trade this day. Mr. G. F. Young, M. P., Mr. Porster, Mr. Redman, and Mr. Harrison, had an interview with the President on the sub ject of presents to African Chiefs. Ott Saturday evening the neighbourhood of Old and New Brentford, and Ealing, was alarmed by a fire break ing out or. the farm of Sir Felix Booth, Bart., in Ealing-lane. Hundreds of persons instantly hurried to the spot. A large haystack, the centre one of three, was in flames. The Ealing engine arrived in a short time, and was got into operation from a large pond adjacent to the premises, as soon as the ice could be broken; but owing to the intense frost th e h ose soon became frozen, and burst, by a which it was rendered quite use less. By that time the stack was one perfect blaze. The Brentford distillery engine, which was accompanied by Air. Hazard, the brewer, who is joint proprietor of the property with Sir Felix Booth, arrrived at that juncture; but the frost. also rendered that useless. Mr. Hazard then set a large: number of men to work in cutting demon the stack, and distil-. buting the burning portions over the neighbouring fields, while a strong body of the inhabitants and persons assembkd, aided by a party of the T division of police, under inspector Marquard. conveyed water to the spot, and by their united exertions by 10 o'clock the fire was prevented extending fur ther than the stack in which it commenced. The above is the second incendiary fire which has occurred on the same property during the la , t two years. The p r op er ty d es t ro y e d is insured in the' Plicenix Fire•office. LITERARY NOVELTIES.—Mr. Colburn, of Great. Marlborough -street, is preparing for immediate publication the* following new and interesting works:--1. Memoirs and C0r , ,,, respondence of Admiral Eal St. Vincent, by Captain Bran ton, R.N., author of " The Naval History of Great Britain,, ` &c., 2 vols., Bvo.-2. Royston Gower; or, The Days of King John, au Historical Romance, by the author of " A Day in the Woods," &c., 3 cols.-3. South America and tb a Pa cific, by thu Hon. P. Campbell Scarlett, 2 vols., pm t Bvo., with illustrations.-4. Men of Character, by Douglas Jerrold, Esq., 3 vols., post Bvo., with numerous characteristic illus trations, after Thackeray.-5. A new and cheaper Edition, with additions, of the " Memoirs of the Beauties ot the Court of Charles II.," by Mrs. Jameson, with twentpome illustra tive portraits by the first artists, to be completed in six monthly- Darts, at only 7s. 6d. each, Part I. to appear with the Map,-,a,- sines on February 1. Mr. Colburn has also just published the following :-1. Raft Hall, by Robert Sulivan, Esq., 3 cols. —2. Diary of the Times of George IV., with numerous Letters of Queen Caroline, &c:, 2 vols., Bvo.-3. Love; a Novel, by Lady Charlotte Bury. 3 cols.-4. The Duchess of Marlborough's Private Correspondence, illustrative of the Court and Times of Queen Anne, now first published, with her Sketches and Opinions of her Contemporaries, 2 vois...• Bvo., with portraits.-5. Mary Raymond, and other Tale 4, by Mrs. Gore, 3 cols —6. Jane Lomax ; or, a Mother's Cririe, by the author of " Brambletye House," &c., 3 vols.--And, 7. The Autobiography of Joseph Holt, General of the. Irish. Re bels in 1795, edited from his original MS., by T. Crofton Croker, Esq , 2 vols., Bvo., with portrait, &c. On Saturday last his Grace the, Duke of Welling- . ton arrived in an open carriage at the Red Lion Hotel, Ban bury, on his way to Strathfield.snye. On his departure seve ral gentlemen and farmers of ti74e neighbourhood, who h7ri attended the meeting on the *railroad, held in the Morning, and wire dining at the hotel,gave the Noble Duke three hearty cheers, which he acknowledged standing in his carriarru •and bowing repeatedly. His Grace looked remarkably well. Yl'he Earl of Aberdeen, passed through immediately afterward's.— Northaninton herald. A permaieal medical, relating several recr;nt c ases 01 mental alienation, affirms that extreme cold i►, as fertile a cave o.f madness as extreme heat. The truth of this doc tri•se is sufficiently exemplified by the vagari , 24 o'i our Govern which Ivo are daily and in aq seasors forced to witness. —C'harivari. QUALIFICATION FOR MATRINION - Y.—NO woman ought to be perinitted to enter upon the duties of connubiality without being able to make a shirt, mend a. coat, seat a pair of unwhisperables, b:ike a loaf of bread, roast a joint of meat, broil a steak, make a pudding, and manufacture frocks for little responsibilities.—American Paper. WHITE PARTRIDGES.—On Thu rsday week, a covey of partridges was seen on the estate o f R. Watt, Esl.. near the high road from Beverley to York, at.uoya which were two perfectly white.—Hall Advertiser.